Qiongzhou Base.
After many years, Ou Zhanpeng and Shan Qiuyu sat together again, a low table laden with cups and utensils.
On the screen by the wall, a group of important figures looked down at the two men.
Shan Qiuyu personally poured two cups of steaming hot clear tea. "You've worked hard these past few years."
"It wasn't just me; everyone put in a lot," Ou Zhanpeng's mind replayed scenes from the past year, and a hint of melancholy flickered across his face. "Staying was an extremely difficult decision, but we persevered."
Recalling the past, Ou Zhanpeng and his teammates could have returned to Earth as planned, and no one could have blamed them. But between personal gain and the survival of humanity, everyone resolutely chose to stay.
It was not just the mission as soldiers, but also the responsibility as humans.
"Do you regret it?" Shan Qiuyu asked.
"Regret? Perhaps." Ou Zhanpeng smiled. "In the most difficult times, there were only seven days of supplies left for the eight of us. In my entire life, I never knew hunger could be so tormenting. I also asked myself more than once, if I could choose again, would I still stay at the Starship Base."
He paused, as if remembering something, and suddenly gave a self-deprecating smile. "I did regret it, but if I had to do it again, I would still choose to stay."
Shan Qiuyu's eyes flickered. "I'm very curious, how did you manage to persevere? Did the Starship have any remaining supplies from the Precursors?"
The Yunhe was never intended for long-term residence, carrying only two and a half years of supplies.
At first glance, it seemed sufficient, but the two and a half years here referred to eight people taking turns in hibernation, greatly reducing consumption. If everyone remained awake, the remaining supplies would only last for half a year at most.
Even with the strictest rationing, it would only last eight months.
Ou Zhanpeng spun his teacup. "We prepared for the worst. If it truly came to that, there were dozens of Precursor corpses in the hibernation pods, enough to last us until the end."
He released the teacup, the residual heat on his fingertips slowly dissipating. "Fortunately, we found the Precursors' laboratory."
Shan Qiuyu already knew the rest of the story. The Precursors' laboratory preserved many prehistoric creatures. The ship's doctor used the experimental equipment to clone prehistoric creatures and cultivate prehistoric plants, ultimately providing ample provisions for everyone.
His tone was very calm. Whether it was Shan Qiuyu or the important figures on the screen, a sense of respect involuntarily arose in their hearts.
"Though it's easy to say, it's not so simple to do." They could easily imagine the determination and effort the Yunhe team had put into controlling the Starship Base.
"Let's not talk about us anymore. Ask what you want to ask directly," Ou Zhanpeng said.
Shan Qiuyu gave a wry smile. "I have a belly full of questions, but I don't know where to start."
"Then start with what interests you the most," Ou Zhanpeng suggested.
"Alright!" Shan Qiuyu nodded. "What I want to know most is, where did that battleship come from?"
This was not only the question he was most interested in, but also the question the higher-ups cared about the most. The important figures on the screen all perked up their ears.
If they could obtain the technology on the ship, their own space fleet would surely soar to new heights.
Ou Zhanpeng smiled. "That's the Starship."
He picked up his teacup and took a sip of the warm tea, the slightly bitter taste making him frown.
The important figures on the screen were all stunned, and so was Shan Qiuyu. "Wasn't the Starship an asteroid? How did it become a battleship?"
Ou Zhanpeng smacked his lips and put down the cup. "To be precise, the Starship is this spacecraft. The asteroid should be called the Starship Base!"
Noticing Shan Qiuyu's peculiar gaze, he added, "Don't look at me like that. I only just found out about this myself; I wasn't deliberately hiding it from you."
Speaking of this matter, Ou Zhanpeng was also a bit flustered. He thought that after the Starship's progress bar was full, it would jump to Earth with the entire base. However, when the system started up, a prompt directly popped up: "Do you wish to eject the battleship?"
All eight of them were dumbfounded. They had been living on the Starship for a year; where did a battleship come from?
The situation did not allow Ou Zhanpeng to think too much. He immediately chose to eject. An exit opened beneath the asteroid, ejecting the ancient-looking Starship from the base.
Ling Xiao was so excited that he immediately gave it a new name: Starship Vessel.
The situation was urgent, and Ou Zhanpeng didn't have time to study where this thing came from. He immediately opened a wormhole back to Earth to prevent the White Ships from continuing to ravage the human fleet.
After explaining the cause and effect, Ou Zhanpeng sighed. "If we hadn't been delayed for a while, we could have returned earlier and saved a few more battleships."
If he had known there was a Starship in the base, he would have taken the battleship back to call for reinforcements—with such a large base, eight people were not enough. Ou Zhanpeng had often lamented the scarcity of manpower when it was needed.
If more people had been brought along, both the repair of the base and the modification of the battleship would have been smoother and more manageable.
"It's alright; you've already done very well." Shan Qiuyu emphasized the Yunhe team's contributions. "Submit your work report as soon as possible. If nothing unexpected happens, your military rank will be adjusted upward again."
"Military rank? It doesn't matter." Ou Zhanpeng's tone was wistful, neither pleased nor displeased.
Shan Qiuyu was very surprised. "Why do you say that?"
"Nothing special," Ou Zhanpeng sighed. "Having experienced great storms and seen the scenery outside, these personal gains and losses are truly insignificant."
"Indeed," Shan Qiuyu smacked his lips, a hint of envy rising in his heart.
If he had this young man's fortune, controlling a super space base, military rank would also be insignificant—even if Ou Zhanpeng were just a rookie soldier at this moment, who would dare to look down on him in the slightest?
To put it bluntly, the Starship Base was never just a base. On a smaller scale, it was the dawn of humanity's mastery of more advanced technology; on a larger scale, it carried humanity's hope and future.
The current Ou Zhanpeng was no longer the petty officer of the past. With the Starship Base behind him, his identity and status were beyond description of his current importance.
It was no exaggeration to say that as long as Ou Zhanpeng wished, with a mere flick of his lips, countless people from countries like America, Russia, and Europe would be lining up to offer their daughters to warm his bed, and eight in one night wouldn't be a problem.
Fortunately, this young man hadn't forgotten his roots and hadn't failed the years of education from the Party and the nation; otherwise, he would surely be glaring with envious eyes like his companions.
Shan Qiuyu changed the subject. "Compared to alien warships, our warships are indeed too backward. Do you have any suggestions in this regard?"
"My only suggestion is to organize elite personnel as soon as possible to fully tackle the Precursors' various technologies, and also to arrange for a group of people." Ou Zhanpeng said, "The Starship is the core of the base, and we must return as soon as possible. Please arrange for a group of researchers to return with us soon!"
"That shouldn't be a problem, but are the supplies sufficient?"
"Isn't our space cultivation technology already mature? I need personnel, equipment, and seeds," Ou Zhanpeng said.
Shan Qiuyu looked at the screen. "What are your opinions?"
"There's nothing to say. Full support, we'll give you people if you need people, and materials if you need materials!" one of the important figures decided on the spot.
As long as they were of sound mind, they would spare no effort to support the Starship and would not hold back Ou Zhanpeng at this time.
With the support of others, Shan Qiuyu's smile brightened a bit. "Anything else you need?"
Ou Zhanpeng thought for a moment and asked, "Have the Precursor texts been deciphered yet?"
Shan Qiuyu was not clear about this aspect and looked at the important figures on the screen again.
One of the important figures grabbed the microphone, turned his head to say something outside the screen, and then quickly released it to answer. "The deciphering team is working on it, and the progress is very encouraging."
"Can you elaborate?" Ou Zhanpeng, no longer able to remain calm, showed a hint of urgency. "Weren't you saying a while ago that there was no progress?"
A year ago, the Yunhe team officially moved into the Starship Base and began a comprehensive investigation of the base's situation. As they understood the base more and more, they found more and more information, but the unfamiliar text became a bottleneck limiting their further understanding of the base.
For this reason, they recorded and archived all the Precursor texts they collected and sent them back to Earth, requesting assistance from their superiors.
Beijing attached great importance to the deciphering of the Precursor texts, immediately mobilizing a large number of professionals to work day and night on all kinds of alien literature and data, preparing four supercomputers alone.
Afterward, Ou Zhanpeng received research results from Earth one after another, mostly for commonly used words, such as cabin names and options on various control interfaces.
However, due to cultural differences and other factors, it was easy to crack the meaning of some words, but it was not so easy to fully master this language.
The important figure on the screen explained, "The situation is like this: we have been strengthening the research team. Not long ago, an expert who participated in Project 858 was transferred to the research group and discovered that the Precursor texts were very similar to the texts found on the prehistoric spacecraft, suggesting a common origin. As you all know, the research for Project 858 has been ongoing for a long time, especially the research on texts. Therefore, we mobilized the research materials from Project 858, and through comprehensive comparison and analysis, the research has made major breakthroughs!"
At this point, everyone was very excited.
"That's great!" Ou Zhanpeng said happily.
With the deciphering of the Precursor texts, the research on the Starship would surely reach a new level!
Shan Qiuyu's terminal suddenly made a light sound. He raised his wrist, and his expression immediately sank. "Message from the External Affairs Department. Other allies are pressuring the External Affairs Department, hoping we will share the technology from the White Ship and the Starship."
Ou Zhanpeng felt a headache.
Speaking of which, this matter was inextricably linked to Ou Zhanpeng.
As soon as the Starship arrived on the battlefield, it sank three White Ships in one go, and another was heavily damaged and lost combat capability.
The action was the best explanation; the discovery of this unknown warship seemed to be on humanity's side!
The minds of the various commanders immediately became active, and they all started making calculations, immediately sending greetings to the Starship in an attempt to establish contact.
If they could get even a little technology from the aliens, it would be more than enough for them to use. How could they let such a good opportunity pass?
Even Shan Qiuyu was no exception—knowing that the other party was very friendly, if they didn't seize the moment to build good relations, would they still dare to turn their backs and sour the relationship?
At the same time, more than a dozen warships were activated in succession and flew towards the White Ships, their intentions needing no explanation.
"Ungrateful bastards, they're already rushing to grab it before the fight is even over!" Shan Qiuyu said indignantly.
But the subsequent development was very dramatic. The Starship showed no signs of stopping them, and Ou Zhanpeng contacted Shan Qiuyu alone to reveal his identity.
Commander Shan was utterly astonished and almost bit his tongue.
Therefore, when the assault teams organized by various parties stormed the White Ship, the Starship slowly flew over, and Ou Zhanpeng announced his identity on the public channel, declaring that this White Ship was their spoils of war and no one was allowed to occupy it without authorization, or face the consequences.
Some disbelievers opened fire with their warships, only to suddenly lose power halfway there.
All human space warships originated from Luojian Mountain. Did they want to betray? Was that a joke?
Thus, the assault team formed by several allies was cornered in the White Ship by the Starship. Not only did the hard-won alien spaceship fall into Shan Qiuyu's hands, but Commander Shan also publicly announced that he reserved the right to pursue further responsibility!
The next step was the business of the External Affairs Department. The military had already gained the advantage. It was the External Affairs Department that was more adept at handling these verbal disputes.
The important figures were not clear about what the External Affairs Department had said, but the allies were clearly furious, otherwise they wouldn't have resorted to such a foolish move.
"They're dreaming too much, they're getting too much leeway!" one of the important figures changed his expression on the spot. "Notify the External Affairs Department, push them all back! If they have the ability, they can earn it themselves. I'm not their father, so I don't need to raise them!"
"Don't rush, don't rush. Everything can be discussed. What requirements do you have? We can talk about them!"
Several important figures gathered together, discussing one after another, and began to formulate a unified external stance.
Shan Qiuyu did not participate in the discussion, but shook his terminal. "Xiao Ou, I also received a message that a group of captives were captured on the White Ship. They are all humans over four meters tall. I'm not surprised that they are hostile to space pirates, but why do they also shout and kill at us, and open fire at our warships at the slightest disagreement? What do they want to do?"
Ou Zhanpeng sighed. "I can't explain the details, but we found some video materials on the Starship. If I'm not mistaken, humans are a very large race in the Milky Way, and we are just a small branch of all humanity."
"What?" Shan Qiuyu was greatly surprised. "Why didn't you mention it?"
When the forest is vast, there are all sorts of birds. Is internecine conflict a big deal for humans?
Ou Zhanpeng shook his head slightly. "These are just my guesses. Do you know why I was so eager for the deciphering results?"
"Because of the textual information?"
"Yes!" Ou Zhanpeng nodded. "I'm not sure if those video materials are true facts. What if they are movies or something..."
"I understand!" Shan Qiuyu said.